Pseudoeupolyphaga menglianensis Ren & Han, 2025

Ren, Yi-Ming, Han, Wei, Che, Yan-Li & Wang, Ji-Rui, 2025, Four new species of the genus Pseudoeupolyphaga Qiu & Che, 2024 (Blattodea, Corydioidea, Corydiinae) from Yunnan, China, ZooKeys 1261, pp. 337-358 : 337-358

Pseudoeupolyphaga menglianensis Ren & Han sp. nov.

Figs 3 A – L , 8 K , 10 A, B, D – G

Type material.

Holotype: China • male ( ZAFU); Yunnan Province, Pu’er City, Menglian County, Nayun Town, Mengwai Village ; 6 May, 2025; Zhong-Hong Luo leg; ZAFU -IC-200005 . Paratypes: China • 1 female (pre-adult) & 4 nymphs ( ZAFU); same collection data as holotype; ZAFU -IC-200006 to 200010 • 1 male & 2 nymphs ( SWU); same collection data as holotype; SWU -B-CC-010077 to 010079 .

Diagnosis.

This species exhibits highly similar tegmina maculae in males and dorsal maculae in females to those of P. daweishana . The primary diagnostic differences are: (1) Males of this species possess a light yellowish-brown abdomen, whereas P. daweishana males have a nearly uniform black abdomen; 2) The anterior whitish margin on the male pronotum is extremely narrow in this species, contrasting with the significantly wider counterpart in P. daweishana males; and (3) The sclerite paa of this species is broad with a short finger-like projection at the right posterior margin, while in P. daweishana , the paa bears a long finger-like projection.

Description.

Holotype. Measurements (mm). Overall length (including tegmen): 25.63; body length: 17.26; body width (tegmina not included): 8.75; tegmen length × width: 23.02 × 8.62; pronotum length × width: 7.73 × 4.64.

Coloration. Body dark brown (Fig. 3 A, B ). Pronotum reddish brown, with yellowish-brown pubescence along the outer margin, anterior margin partially yellow (Fig. 3 E ). Tegmina and hind wings yellowish brown, with dark brown maculae (Fig. 3 A, B ). Vertex, eyes, and spaces between ocelli black. Ocelli and antennal sockets white. Antennae yellow, ante-clypeus pale yellow, post-clypeus black. Labrum yellowish brown, middle part dark brown (Fig. 3 G ). Legs dark brown, spines yellowish brown to black. Pulvilli and arolia white. Sterna dark brown (Fig. 3 B ).

Body. Head: Sub-rounded, almost entirely hidden under pronotum. Eyes and ocelli well-developed. Ocelli ridge indistinct, bearing a row of slender setae along the upper edge. Interocular space narrower than the distance between ocelli, the latter narrower than the distance between antennal sockets (Fig. 4 G ). Pronotum: Oval-shaped, widest near the middle. Surface densely covered with short setae and long pubescence, with symmetrical black stripes medially. Anterior whitish margin extremely narrow, medially almost interrupted (Fig. 3 E ). Tegmina and hind wings: Tegmina densely covered with small and diffuse maculae; maculae at basal and medial regions more densely distributed than at apical region (Fig. 3 A, B ). Legs: Slender, front femur Type C 1. Pulvilli and arolia present (Fig. 3 B ). Abdomen: Smooth, light yellowish brown. Supra-anal plate narrow, distinctly pubescent. Cerci slender. Subgenital plate slightly asymmetrical. Styli long. Genitalia: Well-sclerotized. L 1 apically swollen and bearing one short branch that pointed to the top right corner; the two basal branches thin and elongated. L 2 arcuately curved. Genital hook (L 3) straight and short. L 4 M broadly lamellate. L 4 N well-developed; pda narrow, paa wide and with a finger-like protrusion at the right bottom. L 8 plate-like. R 1 M stoutly expanded terminally. R 1 L elongate and thin. R 2 divided into two chunks. R 3 broadly concave (Fig. 3 K, L ).

Female (pre-adult) paratype (mm). Body length: 17.72; body width: 10.56; pronotum length × width: 8.23 × 4.90.

Coloration. Terga yellow to brownish yellow, densely covered with brownish-yellow maculae, median with a black-brown longitudinal line (Fig. 3 C ). Pronotum brownish yellow, densely covered with short setae (Fig. 3 F ). Vertex, eyes, and the space between ocelli and post-clypeus are black. Antennal sockets and ante-clypeus white. Ocelli and the areas surrounding the ocelli and antennal sockets yellowish white. Antennae yellowish brown. Labrum blackish brown. Legs blackish brown, with spines ranging from yellowish brown to black. Sterna yellow, densely covered with brownish-yellow maculae, median with a wide longitudinal yellow line. Middle part of subgenital plate black (Fig. 3 D, H ).

Body. The widest point of pronotum near the hind margin. Anterior whitish margin absent (Fig. 3 F ). Ocelli degraded to two spots. Interocular space almost equal to the distance between antennal sockets, both wider than the distance between ocelli. Front femur Type C 1. Arolia and pulvilli absent (Fig. 3 D, H ).

Female. Unknown

Nymph. Similar to the pre-adult female.

Ootheca. Unknown.

Etymology.

The name of this species comes from the type locality, Menglian County, Pu’er City, Yunnan Province.

Remarks.

Intraspecific genetic distance between two specimens of this species is 0.31 %, while its minimum distance to other congeners exceeds 20 %. The geographical distance between this species and several other species also found in Pu’er City is relatively large (exceeding 100 km). Although morphologically similar to P. daweishana , these taxa exhibit diagnostic differences in: (1) male abdominal coloration, (2) width of the anterior whitish margin on the pronotum, and (3) structure of the sclerite paa. The substantial genetic divergence (21.9 %) and allopatric distribution (> 400 km straight-line distance) further support their recognition as distinct species.

Figures

Figure 3. Pseudoeupolyphaga menglianensis Ren & Han, sp. nov. A, B, E, G, I – L. Male holotype; C, D, F, H. Female paratype; A. Habitus, dorsal view; B. Habitus, ventral view; C. Habitus, dorsal view; D. Habitus, ventral view; E. Pronotum, dorsal view; F. Pronotum, dorsal view; G. Head, ventral view; H. Head, ventral view; I. Supra-anal plate, ventral view; J. Subgenital plate, ventral view; K. Genitalia, dorsal view; L. Right phallomere, right-ventral view. Scale bars: 1.0 cm (A – D); 0.2 cm (E – H); 0.1 cm (I – L).

Figure 4. Pseudoeupolyphaga spelunca Ren & Han, sp. nov. A, B, E, G, I – L. Male holotype; C, D, F, H. Female paratype; A. Habitus, dorsal view; B. Habitus, ventral view; C. Habitus, dorsal view; D. Habitus, ventral view; E. Pronotum, dorsal view; F. Pronotum, dorsal view; G. Head, ventral view; H. Head, ventral view; I. Supra-anal plate, ventral view; J. Subgenital plate, ventral view; K. Genitalia, dorsal view; L. Right phallomere, right-ventral view. Scale bars: 1.0 cm (A – D); 0.2 cm (E – H); 0.1 cm (I – L).

Figure 8. Oothecae of Pseudoeupolyphaga and living individuals. Oothecae lateral view (A – C) and close-up view to show the serrations (D – F). A, D. P. vestis sp. nov.; B, E. P. spelunca sp. nov.; C, F. P. Pilosa; G, H. Male adults of P. spelunca in the laboratory; I. Male adults of P. vestis under the laboratory; J. Female adults of P. vestis under laboratory conditions; K. Male adults of P. menglianensis under the laboratory; L. Female adults of P. dauni under laboratory conditions (G – L by Yi-Ming Ren). Scale bars: 0.1 cm (A-F).

Figure 10. Habitats and living individuals of Pseudoeupolyphaga species. A, B, D – G. Photos of P. menglianensis sp. nov. from Yunnan Province, Pu’er City, Menglian Country, Nayun Town, Mengwai Group; A, B, D. Habitats of P. menglianensis; C. P. sp. 1: female under lab conditions; E. Individuals collected from the soil (arrow points to the location where the insect was discovered); F. Males reared from the nymphs under lab conditions; G. Female nymph that has recently been exuviated under laboratory conditions (A, B, D – E by Mr Zhong-Hong Luo; C, E – G by Yi-Ming Ren).